NACO Report on HIV Prevalence in India Reveals Grim Situation, Approximately 21 lakh People Living with HIV

New Delhi: In a shocking but serious matter of concern, a report compiled by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) "HIV Estimations 2017" which was released on Friday indicates towards the startling fact that Maharashtra has the highest number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in India which amounts to around 3.30 lakh infected people.

This whooping amount of PLHIV accounts for 15 percent of total immunodeficiency virus-affected people in India with an estimated total of about 21.40 lakh people. The latest report on HIV was published under the Health and Family Welfare Ministry of India.

As per the report, around 69.11 thousand PLHIV died of AIDS-related causes in 2017 in different parts of the country.

The report "HIV Estimations 2017" by NACO has been made with the joint efforts of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS) and is the 14th edition of HIV Estimations under National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).

The NACO report further revealed that as per the collected data, a total of 2.70 lakh people are infected with HIV in Andhra Pradesh, while in Karnataka 2.47 lakh are estimated to be HIV positive. Telangana with 2.04 lakh HIV infected people makes it to the list of other states with high prevalence of PLHIV.

The report further estimates that the prevalence of adult HIV cases is highest in Mizoram with 2.04 percent, followed by Manipur at 1.43 percent and Nagaland at 1.15 percent. Lowest adult HIV prevalence was in Jammu & Kashmir.

According to the NACO report, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan are the states with high HIV prevalence, while Maharashtra tops the list.

Revealing a further grim picture of HIV menace in the country, the report stated that around 22,677 HIV-positive women gave birth in 2017 and needed prophylaxis for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).